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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a film from 1962 directed by John Ford with starring John Wayne and James Stewart . It's a western about a lawyer full of ideals that no weapon travels to the Wild West. If he settles he faces in a small town with a murderous gang that is terrorizing the town.The story is told in the form of flashbacks. The film is based on a short story by Dorothy M. Johnson. Content * 1 Story * 2 Cast * 3 Background * 4 Production Story Lawyer Ransom "Rance" Stoddard to settle in the town of Shinbone in the Wild West of the USA Stoddard is an idealist who believes in the law. He refuses for this reason to carry a weapon. If he travels to the town, the stagecoach is where he travels robberies. When Stoddard resists, he is beaten and left for dead. Ranger Tom Doniphon and his girlfriend Hallie find the unfortunate lawyer and nurse him. Stoddard later learns that the gang led by the infamous Liberty Valance. The gang of terrorizing Valance Shinbone and environment, where they face little opposition, especially from the cowardly marshall Link Appleyard. One of the few who resists is Doniphon and Stoddard considers a wimp who dares to carry a gun. Stoddard in turn sees little difference between Valence and Doniphon. Both men use violence without thinking about alternatives. Stoddard settles in Shinbone, and soon he opened a school to teach the children and the largely illiterate population of the town of reading and writing. Hallie also goes the school. Meanwhile Valance continues to harass the city where Stoddard regularly the target of Vallance's harassment. It soon turns out that Valance works for the big ranchers and landowners in the area. They have an interest in the area is not an American state. That means is that there is law and order and that poses a threat to their business interests. When two smaller farmers are murdered by Valance, the situation begins to escalate. If the government asks to delegate two delegates from Shinbone, an election is held in the town. Although Valance trying to disrupt things back, Stoddard and the editor of the local newspaper are chosen. The situation gets out of hand as Valance then lets save the Editor half dead. Stoddard is lured out of his tent and addresses the challenge of Valance to a duel. To the amazement of the people of Shinbone, putting the total untrained Stoddard his opponent, Liberty Valance, dead. A bullet from the gun wounds Stoddard however. He is lovingly captured by Hallie. When Doniphon sees this, he knows that Hallie is no longer his girlfriend and he is drunk. Stoddard is seen as a hero and was nominated as a representative of the State of Washington. He wants to refuse this honor because of the blood that sticks to his hands. It is Doniphon that brings him back to reality. At the moment that Stoddard valance and faced each other, and fired on each other, from a lap Doniphon lane Vallance with a rifle death. The bang of the gun was drowned out by the almost simultaneous gun fire Stoddard and Valance. Stoddard is persuaded and being elected to the House of Representatives. He married Hallie and later senator. If Stoddard years later returns to the town to attend the funeral of Doniphon, he tells his story to the local newspaper. Who refuse to place the story with the words: "This is the West, if the legend is true, then put the legend in the newspaper." Cast * James Stewart - Ransom Stoddard * John Wayne - Tom Doniphon * Lee Marvin - Liberty Valance * Vera Miles - Hallie Background The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is seen as one of the best films of director John Ford. The film itself is the connection between the classic western of the forties and the violent spaghetti western sixties, Ford and John Wayne were in former periods westerns where heroic white cowboys, driven by a desire for adventure, drove the Indians and the brought civilization. Sergio Leone was in sixties responsible for a number of westerns from which all morality seemed gone and the bloody violence of the tomato sauce splattered canvas. In 1960, as a western The Magnificent Seven already shown that the time of the conscientious gunslinger was waning. A Fistful of Dollars Leone in 1964, would deprive the West forever of his innocence. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance poised between two eras. Good and evil are still distinguishable, but it's less clear who is good and who is evil. Just the names of Liberty Valance and Ransom Stoddard suggest that Ford pokes fun at his own genre. Liberty means "freedom", and Ransom ransom. It's like Stoddard pay ransom for the freedom of his city. Although John Wayne his character Doniphon still play as the good old cowboy, rough diamond, white pit, it is clear that he no longer fits in the West. He discarded his girlfriend has left him and the honor goes to Valance to have shot the man he really despises. His role is played out. The era of the politician has arrived. Shinbone grows into a modern city with schools and shops and the bandits are like the ranchers disappeared. The character of the film is already more pessimistic and more darkness than previous Ford Westerns. Production Unlike other films of John Ford in this period was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in black and white cast. The reason was probably a lack of money. Paramount had to cut back in that time and color films were more expensive. Ford had previously worked with John Wayne and James Stewart but the cooperation between the three men was not about roses. Although Ford was good friends with Wayne and many movies made with him, Ford could not resist taunting his protagonist. He made Wayne hellish by emphasizing the fact that Stewart was a real war hero and not Wayne. On the other hand he called Stewart a racist when the latter jokingly said that one of the African-American characters was something like from Uncle Remus . Ford this kind of psychological games often used to turn his protagonists to greater achievements. Category:American film Category:Western Category:Films 1962 Category:Black and white film Category:Paramount Pictures film Category:Film in the National Film Registry Category:Films of John Ford